Review: Have you ever wondered what life was like in pre-WWII Germany? You can read about what it was like in Erik Larsen's book, In the Garden of Beasts.

In the 1930s, American History professor, William E. Dodd, accepted President Franklin Roosevelt’s request that he take up an appointment as Ambassador to Germany. Dodd accepted, relocated his family—wife, grown son and daughter—to Berlin. Literally, he and his family would find that they were In the Garden of Beasts.If you want to know more about pre-WWII days in Europe, from an American perspective, you will be interested in this book by Seattle author, Erik Larson.

Larson has thoroughly researched the tenure of Dodd as American Ambassador to Germany during the pre-war years. The author, in his narrative of the Ambassador, reveals Dodd’s gradual realization of the growing Nazi presence, expanding powers and brutality of Nazi stormtroopers towards the Jewish sector of German citizens, increasing disregard of terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and the eventual total takeover of German state and society by Hitler and his vanguard. Early days of the Holocaust are evident.

Also, interestingly, Larson notes the complexity of American views back in the U.S. The isolationist views, prejudices, financial concerns, all weigh heavily on the President and the Ambassador during the troubled days of Hitler’s rise to power.

The story of Dodd and his family is followed by a lengthy addendum of Sources and Acknowledgments, Chapter Notes, Bibliography and Index. This is a real treasure trove of information.

Larson's book, Large Print Version, is over 500 pages in length. It is also available in regular print and ebook formats.

In the Garden of Beasts is not a casual summer read; however, if you, like many people, want to try to understand the past, this Larson book will keep you riveted to it for quite a while.